bushido_man96

It sounds like they should be some good stories. Keep me posted; I'll be on the lookout for them!

This is why I don't like to focus on the eyes or the head. You can fake someone out easily, I think.

I wouldn't try not to blink. At work, I have plenty of opportunities to attempt to glare someone down. It really is quite pointless. Some people have a look, and some don't, really. I'd worry more about the things that can actually help you physically, as opposed to staring contests.

Guy, for sure.

Pretty cool. I think you'd have to have steady hands to accomplish that.

I didn't realize that. I guess the overload of worry could do that, though.

10-28-08 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. Basics were changed up tonight, which was nice. We also did the double punch, round kick, spin crescent, spin heel kick combo. It was rough on me, but I got to work on my spin heel kick, making sure my body alignment stayed good. No sparring, but got some good drilling in.

10-27-08 Chest/triceps Seated chest: 130x10, 150x10, 170x10 Triceps press: 215x8, 8, 6 Vertical butterfly: 100x10, 115x8, 130x6 Back/biceps/shoulders Lat pull-down: 141x10, 148x10, 154x8 Seated row: 115x10, 130x8, 145x6 Barbell curls: 70x10, 10, 10 Abs Decline crunches: 3x15 Hanging knee raises: 3x10 Combat Hapkido: 10:10 - 11:00. Worked on yellow and orange belt material, and then did some of my red belt material. I talk alot about working on the Combat Hapkido material, but I don't elaborate a whole lot on the material itself, so it must sound kind of vague. So, I guess I'll divulge a bit more discription here. Yellow and orange belt start with some simple breakaways, where we break a grip, and then finish with a strike or kick. Yellow has 4, and orange has 5. Some of them are assisted, where we strike the hand that is gripping us, and then use that to facilitate the breakaway. All of these at this point come from a same-side wrist grab. Yellow belt has two same side wrist grab defenses. One is an undergrab of the attacking hand, then twisting it into a takedown. The other is an outside wrist takedown, known as kote goshi in other grappling styles. Orange belt has 3 more same side defenses. One is a variant of the first yellow belt technique, in which after the undergrab, we jam the opponent's elbow into their own body, and then drag them out to take them down. Another is an arm bar to takedown, and another is a wrist control takedown. We then get into cross grabs of the wrist, with 3 defenses against those. One is another armbar variant, one is an elbow break over the shoulder, then into a four-direction throw (shio nage), and then an elbow lock up.

I'm not sure if the added belt colors has been as a result of Western goal setting or not. I don't know if it came down from the East first or not. If anyone knows the history, it would be cool to know.

Not everyone has that switch, that "killer instinct" that they can turn on and off when they want to. Sometimes, you have to push someone really far and really hard to get it.

I don't like the stare-down bit either. Looking into someone's eyes can end up getting you into trouble, especially if they start faking you to the left or right, up or down with eye or head movement. I like to look right around the shoulder area. I also try not to look where I am attacking, but I think I do at times.

Now, if you can use the stance switch as part of the transition in a range, then you're getting into that territory.

This post is spawned from an article in the December 2008 issue of Black Belt Magazine. It essentially discusses three elements to the thought process of an attacker. 1. Desire to attack. This stems from ideas of what one may gain from attacking you, be it monetary or social approval (like through a gang). He/she is attempting to fill a need. 2. Opportunity to attack. How? He may see you as being too comfortable or complacent in your current surroundings. You may be distracted by being on the phone, or he may notice that you routinely let others enter your personal zone. 3. Ability to attack. This usually relates to any physical advantage he might have over you. Size, weapons, numbers, etc. This is a very brief overview of the outline of the article, but I fealt that it offered some very good information to think about when you are out and around. The author also states that one should not be paranoid, but just aware of what goes on around. Paranoia can make one too edgy, I think. Awareness is much more healthy, I think.

I never realized it was that thought out. Pretty cool, really, when you think about how recognized Google is.

Very creative.

10-25-08 Aikido class: 10:00 - 12:00. Some of the basic movements I am getting better at. Some are still confusing. My rolls and breakfalls are getting better, too, as far as Aikido standards go. For technique work, we worked on a few side entering throws from an upset knifehand attack (yokomenuchi tenshin irimi nage). We also did some defense against the downward knife hand attacks, doing variations depending on where in the attack it was stopped.

Well, a high rank should be helping with this. But at the same time, its a tough lesson to get across when the sparring is non-contact. The threat just isn't there, and it effects the respect given to techniques. Now, if you were actually allowed to pop them every now and then, they would learn that lesson a lot quicker.

I think that training transitions like that is a great way to get a fighter to think ahead, and get the upper hand in that chess match that is professional fighting.

Yes, Savate does this. I do believe the gloves are worn, so if you know the system, when you see a match, you can determine the experience levels of each of the fighters. Muay Thai has never done this, to my knowledge. Perhaps the coach is trying to accomplish something like this, and it may be where he got the idea.

So, I've been curious. With the recent high profile stars that have been playing the super heroes, who do you suppose will be cast as Captain America? Or Thor? On another note, I went out at midnight on Tuesday, the 22 of October, and bought my copy of The Incredible Hulk. I've only watched it like 4 times so far (my son loves it, too ). In the movie, you see glimpses of SHIELD, and a note from Nick Fury during the credits in the beginning. So anyway, when Ross is discussing the super soldier program that started up in WWII with Blonski, I have to wonder if that little tidbit is where Captain America springs from. I thought that Steve Rogers was a soldier in WWII, and the super soldier serum allowed him to either stay young, or appear to, or something of the like. So, was Blonski infused with stuff that Captain America was infused with? Anyone know for sure?

It should work well. I don't know much about this one, but Marvel has done so well with its movies of late, and seems to be taking the time to really plan them out. It should be worth seeing.

Hey, alright! My favorite!

Good. The sooner that this is put behind the MMA world, the better. Now that the promotion is defunct, though, it may not mean as much.

10-24-08 Push-ups: 3x20 Floor Kicks Side kick: 3x12 each side Round kick: 3x12 each side Hook kick: 3x12 each side Aikitaisos Irimi: 10 each side Tenkan: 10 each side Shomen: 10 each side

Those are good points, Joe. Its easier if you are familiar with who you are sparring with. If it is someone knew, then you have to rely on your own skills for long enough to figure out some tendencies. I know there are some guys at the school that I can try new things with, and there are others that I have a layout for, and try to stick to it. Its the fun part of sparring, really.